Method of finishing shoe heels



March 9, 1965 B. v. DARDIG 3,172,

METHOD OF FINISHING SHOE HEELS Filed Sept. 25. 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 1INVENTOR BEN V. DARDIG BY W ATTORN March 9, 1965 5, v, DARDIG 3,172,136

METHOD OF FINISHING SHOE HEELS Filed Sept. 25, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2INVENTOR BEN V- DARDIG ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,172,136 WTHOD 0FFINISHING SHQE HEELS Ben V. Dardig, New York, N.Y., assignor to UnitedDynamics Corporation, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York v FiledSept. 25, 1962, Ser. No. 226,125 17 Claims. (Cl. 12-147) This inventionrelates to improvements in shoe manufacture and is more particularlyaddressed to a method of contouring and sizing the heels'of shoes usingso-called snap-on heels.

As conducting to a proper understanding of the present invention,reference is bad, to my Patent No. 2,932,099, dated April 12,l960,entitled Detachable Heel, which discloses andclaims a snap-on typeof detachable heel construction for shoes, particularly but notexclusively mens shoes, which comprises a heel base aliixed to the heelseat portion of the shoe outsole and an outer heel which is adapted tobe snapped on to the heel base by means of complementary stud andsocket-type separable about when'only partly worn, for example, but alsoof rendering a heel interchangeable with any heel .of a shoe of any makeusing the same size heel Statedin other words, the snap-on heel conceptof my patent aforesaid has opened up new possibilities not only asrespects the interchangeability of the heels of the same pair of shoesbut, also of establishing, for the first time, the universalinterchangeability of shoe heels, regardless of make.

However, prior to my present invention there was available no machineryor known procedure for so contouring and sizing an entire shoe heel,i.e. the heel seat portion of the insole, the heel base and the outerheel (the latter sometimes also referred to as the heel tread or heellift), permitting the aforesaid possibility of true heelinterchangeability to be realized. On the other hand, the acceptedpractice in shoe heel contour-ing or trimming and sizing was to nail theheel base and heel proper in that order to the heel seat of the shoeoutsole and then trim and scour all three heel components by hand, apractice resulting in uneven contouring and differences in size to adegree making heel interchangeability impossible. Although the patentliterature contains record of efforts made by workers in the field ofshoe manufacture in the direction of trimming heels by machine means,for example, Mayo Reissue Patent No. 11,770, dated September 5, 1899,and Winkley No. 1,529,047, dated March 10, 1925, such do not and cannotpossibly result in universal or even heel-pair interchangeability,because of their failure in establishing, in the first instance, anydefinite shape, size and contour which can act as a master pattern,through the use of which heels may be contoured and sized with theexactitude required for both pair and universal interchangeability asaforesaid.

Thus, stated broadly, a major object of the present invention is theprovision of a method of trimming and more particularly, of contouringand sizing the heels of shoes in such manner as not only to render theouter heel, i.e. lift or tread portion, of any particular pair of shoesinterchangeable with respect to one another but also to render eitherone of said heels interchangeable with 3,172,135 Patented Mar. 9, 1965any heel of a shoe of any make using the same size heel.

A more particular object of the invention is to provide a method of socontouring and sizing the heel seat and heel base of a shoe heel to oneof a series of standard sizes and shapes that will accept a snap-onouter heel, preferably of the type disclosed and claimed in my aforesaidpatent, as will enable such an outer heel to be attached to either theright or left shoe of a particular pair thereof for interchangeable usethereon, as well as to any shoe of a pair within the size range whichwill use the same size heel, thus establishing universal interchangeability of heels with respect to all shoes within said size range.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a method of exactlycontouring and sizing the heel seat and heel base components of shoes toany selected one ofa series of standard sizes and shapes of finishedsnap-on heel suitable thereto, through the use of a template which is anexact, replica of the snap-on heel to be attached and which itself isadapted to be temporarily snapped onto the'shoe heel or heel seatportion of the outsole, in position such that it is effective to serveas a pattern for the contouring and sizing means employed.

Yet another object of the invention is the provision of a method ofcontouring and sizing shoe heels, based on the use of a template servingas a pattern of the exact size, shape and contour to which the heel seatand heel base components of a shoe heel must be trimmed to enable anouter finished heel component which is interchangeable with respect tothatof an opposite shoe .of a pair, and ,alsoto the heel of any shoeusing the'same size heel, to be attached thereto.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a method as laststated applied to shoes using snap-on heels, wherein the template maybesimply snapped onto and unsnapped from the heel base component, thusto provide a simple, practical and fast method of template attachmentand detachment which reduces to a minimum the machine-out time and laglikely to occur with use of a template.

The above and other objects and features of advantages of the inventionwill appear from the following detailed description of the heelcontouring and sizing method and implementing apparatus as hereinproposed and provided, taken with the accompanying illustrativedrawings, wherein- FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a shoehaving a heel base for a snap-on-heel applied thereto and prior to anycontouring and sizing of the heel seat and heel base components of theheel;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view looking onto the attaching ing face of aninterchangeable (right or left) snap-on heel of finished contour andsize adapted according to the invention to be snapped on to the heelbase of the shoe shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view looking on to the attaching face of a metaltemplate contoured and sized exactly as the heel shown in FIG. 2 andwhich, when attached to the heel base shown in FIG. 1, is adapted toserve as a standard or pattern establishing the contour and size of theheel seat and heel base components shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a broken-away side elevation intended to illustrate thetemplate shown in FIG. 3 temporarily attached to the heel base of theshoe shown in FIG. 1, the latter being thus ready for the heel seat andheel base contouring and sizing operation; a

FIG. 5 is a section taken along line 55 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a broken-away, part-sectional side elevation of a preferredform of heel trimming or contouring and sizing apparatus according tothe present invention, and which further illustrates the manner of usingthe template shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 as a heel trimming guide;

FIG. 7 is a view generally similar to FIG. 6 but in which heel scouringmeans has been substituted for the trimming and contouring means shownin FIG. 6; and

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary plan view illustrating the constructional andmounting details of the sanding belt or band forming a part of theaforesaid scouring means.

According to the invention, a shoe 10 (FIG. 1) of a constructionadapting it to use a snap-on heel such as disclosed and claimed in myaforesaid prior Patent No. 2,932,099 is provided in a preliminaryoperation with a heel base 12 affixed to the heel-seat portion 14 of itsoutsole 16 as by nails 18, said heel base carrying a plurality (threebeing illustrated) of male fastener elements (studs) 20 arranged onetowards the rear of its longitudinal center line and the other twosymmetrically to the sides of said center line and in the heel cornerareas as shown. At this stage of heel manufacture, both the heel base 12and the heel-seat portion 14 of the outsole are only roughly contouredand are oversize, as indicated by the stippling.

On the other hand, the snap-on heel 22 (FIG. 2), ultimately to beattached to said heel base 12 and which is accordingly provided withembedded socket-type fastener elements 24 complemental to and arrangedsimilarly to the aforesaid studs 20, is fabricated and supplied not onlyas an exactly and finally contoured finished item but also withidentical rightand left half configuration and size enabling it to 'beattached to either shoe of any particular pair thereof, thu to beinterchangeable with the heel of the other shoe of said pair, and/or toany shoe of pairs thereof using the same size of heel. Such exactcontouring and sizing of the snap-on heel 22 is readily attainable by,in the case of rubber or composition (including the plastics suitablefor a shoe heel) type heels or, in the case of leather or leather-typeheels, by die-cutting or fabricating said heel to the exact standardsize and contour. It is to be understood that the fastener sockets 24are properly positioned (embedded) in the heel during the course of theheel molding or fabricating operation so that their working ends areaccessible through the inner or attaching face of said heel.

Because of the likelihood of a finished outer heel corresponding to theaforesaid snap-on heel 22 being cut, scuffed, marred, depressed becauseof the nature of its material, etc., if used as the template fortrimming or scouring both the aforesaid heel seat and heel basecomponents to exact contour and size and also to permit the contouringand sizing operations to be performed without any resort to saidfinished heel, it is a feature of the invention to use instead apreferably metal template which is attachable to the heel base component12 in the identical position laterally and longitudinally with respectto the shoe heel as a whole which the finished heel will assume whenultimately attached to said heel base component, and which is thusideally suited to and capable of serving as a pattern for establishingthe exact contour and size to which both said heel seat and heel basecomponents must be trimmed to properly accept the fmished heel when itis ultimately attached thereto, which further can be quickly attached toand detached from the heel base, thus to cut machine-out time to aminimum, and finally which can be attached to said heel base in apredetermined axially spaced-apart relation thereto as insures that theoperation of contouring and sizing of the heel seat and heel basecomponents is unaffected by variations in the evenness or regularity ofthe crease between shoe upper and the heel seat portion of the outsole,sometimes also called the rand.

More particularly, the invention provides a template member comprising atemplate plate proper 26 rigidly aflixed to a shoe-rest plate 28. Saidtemplate 26 has contour and heel size identical with that of the snap-onheel 22, and it mounts on its relatively upper face a plurality offastener sockets having function and locational arrangement with respectto one another identical to that of the aforesaid fastener sockets 24carried by the snap-on heel 22, thus being complemental to the fastenerstuds 20 carried by the heel base 12 as aforesaid. Pref erably theshoe-rest plate 28 which is rigidly affixed to the under face of thetemplate extends relatively forwardly of the template proper 26 and itmay further be narrowed as shown -or otherwise formed along its extendedside edges so as to be capable of functioning as a handle whichfacilitates the attaching and detaching of the template.

As further seen in FIG. 4, the placement of the fastener sockets 30 onthe upper face of the template proper 26 disposes their working endswell above the upper face of said template, thus to space the templatefrom the attaching face of the heel base 14 to which said template issnapped. As will be later explained, this spacing is of advantage as itpermits vertical floating movement of the trimming cutter assembly inaccordance with variation in thickness of the rand or heel-seat portionof the outsole or in the regularity of the crease between shoe upper andsaid heel-seat portion.

The aforesaid template 26 is employed, according to the invention, as ameans for guiding a rotating cutter effective to trim (contour and size)the aforesaid heel seat and heel base components of the heel of saidshoe to the exact contour and approximate size of the template andthereby of the finished outer heel 22 ultimately to be snapped on tosaid heel base component, and thereupon for guiding said shoe about ameans for scouring the trimmed edge surfaces of said heel seat and heelbase, as the term scouring is herein used to mean sanding with a finesand-paper so as to obtain both final heel sizing and a very smooth heelsurface devoid of chatter marks, etc. which is suitable to being stainedand buffed for final heel finish.

Referring to FIG. 6 illustrating the basic elements making up thetrimming or contouring apparatus of the in vention, such comprises amachine table 32 having a horizontal top surface on which a shoe mayrest as it is being trimmed and also during scouring thereof, throughwhich projects the reduced-diameter, upper end portion 34a of avertically disposed cutter-drive shaft 34 which is suitably powered byan electric motor or other driving means (not shown) disposed below saidtable. A rotary, multi-bladed, wheel-type cutter 36 is mounted on anddrivingly connected to said drive shaft via a tubular mounting arbor 38to which the cutter is keyed or otherwise aflixed and which isdimensioned so as to be capable of being telescoped on to the reducedupper end of said drive shaft. The arbor, although axially separabletherefrom, is drivingly connected to said drive shaft 34 preferably bymeans of a pair of diametrically opposed drive forks 40a, 40b dependingdownwardly therefrom and which are receivable in complemental notches42a, 42b provided in the opposite peripheral portions of the cutterdrive shaft just below its upper reduced-diameter end portion 34a, suchform of driving connection also permitting limited axial movement of thearbor in upward direction during cutter operation. It will of course beunderstood that any other suitable axially separable drive connectionfor driving the cutter arbor 38 from the drive shaft 34 may besubstituted.

The aforesaid arbor 38 also mounts a circular, discform guide 44 havingappreciable axial thickness, and which is disposed just below thecutter, in manner as to be freely revoluble with respect to the arborand cutter, being mounted on ball-bearings 46. At this point of thedescription it is noted that the lowermost position of the arbor 38 andthereby of the cutter 36 and freely revoluble guide 44 is determined byan upwardly facing shoulder 48 separating the lower normal-diameterportion of the cutter drive shaft 34 and its reduced-diameter, upper endportion 34a and through which the aforesaid shaft notches 42a, 42b open,which shoulder is disposed just above the level of the machine table 32.

The upper end of the aforesaid arbor 38 mounts a freely rotatablerand-guide 50 (so called because itwould bear on a rand if provided)which is adapted to be held in an axially fixed position immediatelyabove the cutter 36 by means of a nut 52 adapted to be screwed to theupper end of the arbor, which is externally threaded for a shortlengthportion thereof adjacent its upper end so as to be capable of receivingsaid nut. It will be seen from FIG. 6 that the rand-guide Stl takes theform of a shieldlike collar or disc having appreciably greaterouter-edge diameterthan that of the cutter as, its outer edge 56::acting much as a circular knife edge consequent to the upper surface ofsaid disc being tapered downwardlyoutw'ardly; As will be hereinafterseen, said outer edge 59a is adapted to extend into the crease betweenthe heel.

portion of the shoe upper and the extended edge portion of the heel seat14 of the outsole (or between said heel portion and the heel rand),thereby serving to vertically position the cutter 36 so that its cuttingedges will be effective against the outer edge of the heel seat and heelbase components of the heel, as is generally indicated in FIG. 6.

The entire cutter assembly, consisting of the arbor 38, the cutter 36,the freely revoluble guide 44, the upper rand-guide 5t and the nut 52,is normally maintained in a lowermost position, as determined byabutment of the lower end of the arbor against the aforesaid drive shaftshoulder 4-3, by means of a coil-type compression spring 56 disposed inencircling relation about the extreme upper end 34 of the cutter driveshaft which is preferably formed tubular as shown, and which is reactivebetween the randguide securing nut 52 and the under side of alargediameter head 58 on an end pin 60 which is dimensioned so as to beinsertible in the bore of said drive-shaft upper end for detachablesecurement thereto. Conveniently, the pin securing means may take theform of a bayonet-joint connection comprising diametrically projectingpins 62 carried by the shank of the pin 6% and cooperating J-shapedbayonet slots 64 in the tubular wall of the upper end of the shaftextension 34a and which of course open through the upper edge thereof.

This arrangement provides for limited free-floating movement of theentire cutter assembly against the bias of the spring 56. Means are alsoprovided for positively actuating said cutter assembly in axially upwarddirection by a limited amount against the bias of spring 56. As more orless diagrammatically shown in FIG. 6, such means comprises a lifterwedge 66 having sliding bearing on the top face of the machine table 32and adapted'for limited movement therealong from its normal retractedposition in which it is shown to a more forward or active position inwhich its wedge-shaped working end 66a wedges in under the freelyrevoluble guide disc 44 to an extent raising same and thereby the entirecutter assembly a limited amount in upward direction.

To actuate said lifter wedge 66 as aforesaid, it is connected as by pins68a, 68b extending through elongated slots 70a, 70b provided in themachine table 32 to an under plate 72 having sliding bearing on theunder face of said machine table. Normally, said lifter wedge 66 andunder plate 72, operating as a unit by virtue of the pin connectiontherebetween, are maintained in their retracted (rightwise) position bymeans of a tension spring 74 secured at one end (not shown) to a pointon the under side of the machinetable and at its forward working end tosaid under plate 72,, as by means of an eye 76 extending downwardlytherefrom. Said eye also servesas a means for connecting one end of acable 78 to said under plate, the cable extending over an idler pulley80 rotatable in a bracket 82 afiixed to the under face of the machinetable and thence to a foot treadle (not shown).

By the above arrangement, the entire cutter assembly may be bodilyraised by depression of the foot pedal from its normal lowermostposition the limited amount necessary to raise the rand-guide 50 to alevel such that 7 lines, FIG, 6).

its outer edge 50a is disposed slightly above the level of the heel seatportion 14 of the outsole of a shoe supported on said machine table 32(as indicated in broken Upon release of the foot treadle, the cutterassembly wil'l lower under the urge of spring 56 to a positiondetermined by engagement of the rand guide with the exposed upwardlyfacing edge of the heel-seat portion 14- of said shoe. Thereafter, thecutter assembly will float in accordance with any variation in thicknessof the heel seat component of the heel being trimmed and/ or unevennessin the upper surface thereof. Also, the above-described cutter mountingand arrangement provides for simple removal of the cutter assembly as awhole from the cutter-drive shaft 34, for the purposeof changing therevoluble guide to one of greater or lesser diameter, or of sharpeningthe cutter, or of replacing the cutter assemblywit'n the heel scouringmeans to be described.

As earlier forecast, the invention provides that after a shoe is putthrough its heel contouring and sizing operscoured, i.e. abraded withfine sand-paper (orequivalent) to remove possible chatter marksresulting from the cuter action and to impart a smooth surface to thetrimmed heel components preliminary to its final finishing as bystaining and bufiing, as is conventional. scouring operation isperformed immediately following completion of the contouring or trimmingoperation, and for this purpose the aforesaid cutter assembly may beremoved as a unit from the drive shaft 34 (as permitted by theseparability of the end pin 6% with respectto the upper end of saiddrive shaft) and a scouring means whose proper operation is alsodependent on the use of the aforesaid template 26, is substitutedtherefor. Alternately, the machine may be provided with two drive shaftsarranged in adjacency, one being or corresponding to the aforesaid driveshaft 34 and the second serving the scouring means, such arrangementalso eliminating double handling of the shoe and requiring but a singletemplate.

Ill'ustratively, and referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, the scouring meanscomprises an endless band of sand-paper 8 V sioning means, whichillustratively comprises an arm which mounts the spindle 88a of theidler roller at its approximate mid point and is pivotally connected atits one end to a point on the upper surface of the machine table 32 soas to be capable of swinging towards and away from the driven roller 86,and a tension spring 92 connect-to and biasing the other end of said armin a direction away from said driven roller. be understood that thestrength of the spring 92 is such that it applies requisite tension onthe endless sand-paper belt 84- as to insure the positive drive thereofby the driven roller 86.

Although not shown in detail, it is to be understood that the drivenroller 86 is mounted on an arbor corresponding generally to theaforesaid cutter arbor 38 and which is adapted to be telescoped onto thereduceddiameter, upper end portion 34a of the drive shaft and to bedrivingly connected to said drive shaft through the provision of lowerend driving forks 96a, 96b fitting into the aforesaid notches 42a, 42bof the drive shaft, just as with the arbor 38 of the cutter assembly.The roller arbor also mounts below the roller 86 a freely revolubledisc-form guide 93 and above said roller a top securing nut 100corresponding to the guide 44 and top not 52,

Preferably, the v -t will of course 7 respectively, of the cutterassembly. When assembled to the shaft 34 in substitution for the cutterassembly, as in FIG. 7, the roller assembly 86, 98 and 100 is biased toits operative lowermost position in which it is coupled to the driveshaft 34 by means of the aforesaid spring 56 and end pin 69, just as thecutter assembly is so held.

At this point, it is explained that, whereas the revoluble guide 44- ofthe cutter assembly will in most cases be chosen to have about X largerdiameter than that of its cutter 36, with the result that the trimmedheel seat and base will be ,4 oversize as respects the actual sizedesired in the finished heel product, the diameter of the revolubleguide 98 of the roller assembly is the same as the CD. of thecombination of the driven roller 86 and sanding belt 84 trainedthereover. Thus it is contemplated that the sanding belt will bring theheel seat and heel base size down from its approximate A oversize to theexact size desired, at the same time imparting a very smooth surface tothe contoured heel edges preliminary to the later staining and buffingoperations usually given a shoe heel to finish same.

While it is believed that the heel trimming and scouring method of theinvention will be clear from the foregoing description, such are brieflydetailed as follows:

A template 36 is made up to a standard of contour and size rendering itsuitable as a heel pattern for shoes of any make and size range usingthe same size heel, and for interchangeable use on each of the right andleft shoes of the shoe pairs falling within said size range.

Said template will be provided with the female or sockettype fastenerelements 30 identical with and arranged similarly to those of thesnap-on finished outer heel such as that designated 22 (FIG. 2). Saidouter heel will be produced as a finished item having the same contourand size as said template either before or after fabrication of thetemplate and/or the shoe contouring and sizing operation using the sameas a heel pattern. The shoe or shoes whose heels are to be contoured andsized will be supplied with rough heel base (12) nailed or otherwisefinally fastened in place to the rough heel-seat portion (14) of theshoe outsole (16), and with male or stud fasteners (20) preset in finalposition on said heel base through the use of appropriate means forfixing their position on said heel base to that of the complementalstuds of the finished outer heel. The template 26 is then simply snappedonto the heel base whereupon it assumes a position corresponding exactlyto that which the finished outer heel 22 will have when later attached,such exact positioning of course meaning laterally and longitudinallywith respect to the shoe heel as a whole since the template willnecessarily be spaced downwardly a small distance from the heel base asshown in FIG. 4. Then, the shoe with template attached as aforesaid isplaced on the shoe supporting means, i.e. the machine table 32, with itsheel portion turned generally towards the cutter assembly assumed tohave been or which is now mounted on the drive shaft 34.

The cutter assembly is positively raised by actuation of the foottreadle from its normal position with respect to said table 32 thelimited amount necessary to raise the rand guide edge 50a slightly abovethe level of the upper projecting edge of the heel seat portion of theshoe ready for the heel contouring and sizing operation as aforesaid,whereupon the shoe is moved laterally against the cutter assembly, withthe result that the rand guide edge moves into the crease between theshoe-heel upper and the heel seat and the template moves against thefreely revoluble disc guide 44 of the cutter assembly. Thereupon,pressure on the foot treadle is released, and the rand guide lowers ontothe projecting, upwardly-facing edge surface of said heel seat under thebias of spring 56 effective on the cutter assembly, the spring thenserving to cause the rand guide to bear on and ride said edge regardlessof variation in thickness of the heel seat or unevenness of its upperedge surface.

Assuming the cutter to be now positively driven, the shoe is moved byhand generally about the heel axis while maintaining the template ingood contact with the guide disc or roller 44, such resulting in thecutter 36 contouring and sizing the heel seat and heel base componentsof the shoe heel to the contour and approximate size of the template.

In explanation of the latter statement as it pertains to size, it iscontemplated that a series of guides corresponding to the guide 44 andhaving diameters in increments will be provided, and the guide chosenwill be about & larger than the cutter diameter, such resulting in thetrimmed heel seat and base being a corresponding 34:4" larger than theactual size required in the final heel. The reason for the series ofguides having size increments as aforesaid is to compensate for thedecrease in cutter diameter inevitably occurring as the cutter isperiodically sharpened, and the A oversize is to allow for the smallreduction in heel size incident to the scouring operation, which ofcourse removes some of the heel surface material.

Upon completion of the heel trimming operation, and assuming that theshaft 34 also drives the scouring means, the cutter assembly isdismounted from the drive shaft 34 and the roller assembly of thescouring means 84-100 mounted on said shaft in substitution thereof. Itis repeated that the diameter of the guide of the roller assembly in thesame as the CD. of the combination of the roller 86 and the sand-paperband 34. This will result in the scouring assembly, through the abradingeffect of its sand-paper band, reducing the aforementioned oversize ofthe heel seat and base components and thus in said components finallyhaving the same contour and size as said template and acquiring a verysmooth outer-edge surface ready for the final operation of heel stainingand bufiing. It will be understood, of course, that during the secondstage operation of heel scouring the shoe is rotated about its heel axisand guided in this movement by engagement of the template with theperiphery of the guide 98, just as during the first-state contouringoperation. Upon completion of the scouring operation, the template issimply unsnapped from the heel base and the shoe is now ready to receiveits finished outer heel as aforesaid.

Since the aforesaid heel seat and heel base contouring and sizingoperations are performed independently of and without resort to anyphysical or direct use of the finished outer heel ultimately to beattached, attachment of said outer heel may be effected at any timefollowing completion of said scouring operation that is practical orconvenient, i.e. immediately upon said completion or any time followingsaid completion that fits into or is compatible with a manufacturingschedule.

As many changes could be made in carrying out the above method andconstructions without departing from the scope of the invention, it isintended that all matter contained in the above description or shown inthe accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and notin a limiting sense.

I claim:

1. The method of shoe heel construction, which includes the steps of:providing a template having edge contour and size correspondingsubstantially exactly to the contour and size of a finished outer heelultimately to be attached to the heel seat and heel base components ofthe heel which are already permanently in place on a shoe, detachablysecuring said template to the heel base component in positioncorresponding exactly to that which is to be assumed by the finishedheel when attached, and contouring and sizing said heel seat and heelbase components to the contour and size of the template and thereby ofsaid finished outer heel.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the outer heel is of thesnapon type having snap fastener elements and said heel base is providedwith complemental snap fastener elements, and wherein said template issimilarly of the snap-on type having snap-fastener elementscorresponding in number, arrangement and function to those of thefinished outer heel and wherein detachable securement of the template tothe heel base component is effected by engaging the snap fasteners ofthe former with those of the latter.

3. The method of finishing the heel seat and heel base components of ashoe heel, which are already permanently in place on a shoe, to thecontour, size and approximate smoothness-of-edge-surface of a finishedouter heel ultimately to be attached to said heel base, which includesthe steps of providing a template having edge contour and sizecorresponding substantially exactly to that of the finished outer heel,and through the use of the template as a guide first contouring the edgesurfaces of the heel seat and heel base components to the contour ofsaid finished heel and to a size which is slightly greater than that ofsaid template and finished heel, and thereupon scouring the so-contourededge surfaces by an amount as to reduce the size of said components tothat of the template and thereby of said finished heel and in suchmanner as to provide smooth edge surfaces on said contoured components.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the finished outer heel isof the snap-on type which is provided with snap-fastener attaching meansand the heel base is provided with complemental snap-fastener means, andwherein said template is similarly of the snap-on type havingsnap-fastener elements corresponding in number, arrangement and functionto those of the outer heel and which further includes the step ofdetachably securing said template to the heel base prior to thecontouring operation by engagement of the snap fasteners of the formerwith those of the latter.

5. The method according to claim 3, which includes as a step preliminaryto that of contouring said heel seat and heel base components the stepof detachably securing the template to the heel base in the identicalposition which the finished outer heel will assume whenultimatelyattached.

6. The method according to claim 5, and including the further steps ofdetaching the template from the heel base upon completion of thescouring step, and thereupon attaching the finished heel to said heelbase in the position formerly assumed by said template.

7. The method of shoe heel construction which includes the steps of:providing a template of a finished outer heel having identical rightandleft-half configuration and size adapting said finished outer heel foruse with one or more shoe sizes within a size range, detachably securingsaid template to the rough heel base component already in place on theportion of the outsole of an existing shoe which constitutes the heelseat component of the heel thereof, and contouring and sizing the roughheel base and the rough heel seat components of the heel of said shoe tothe con-tour and size of said finished heel through the use of saidtemplate, whereby finished outer heels having the contour and size ofsaid template may be applied interchangeably to right and left shoeshaving their heel seat and heel base components contoured and sized asaforesaid and which use the same size of heel as said finished heel.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein said finished heel is of thesnap-on type and the heel base is provided with complemental snap-onfasteners, and wherein said template is similarly of the snap-on type 19having snap-on fasteners complemental to and arranged identically withthose of said heel base, and wherein detachable securement of thetemplate to the heel base component is effected by engaging the snapfasteners of the former with those of the latter.

9. The method of shoe heel construction which includes the step of:contouring and sizing the heel seat and heel base components of a shoeheel already in place according to the contour and size of a template ofthe finished outer heel ultimately to be attached to said heel base.

10. The method of shoe heel construction which in cludes the steps ofproviding a template having contour and size of a finished outer heelultimately to be attached to the heel seat and heel base components of ashoe heel which are already in place on a shoe and which is furtherstandard for right and left heels and also for a range of heel sizes,and contouring and sizing the heel seat and heel base componentsaccording to the contour and size of said template.

11. The method of shoe heel construction according to claim 9, whereincontouring and sizing of the heel seat and heel base components asaforesaid is carried out in two stages, the firs-t stage effectingcontouring and sizing to a size which is slightly oversize with respectto template size, and the second stage effecting final sizing to that ofthe template.

12. The method of shoe heel construction according to claim 9, includingthe further step of attaching the template directly to the heel base inthe identical lateral and longitudinal position which the finished outerheel will assume when attached.

13. The method of shoe heel construction according to claim 10, whereincontouring and sizing of the heel seat and heel base components asaforesaid are carried out in two stages, the first stage effectingcontouring and sizing to a size which is slightly oversize with respectto template size and the second stage effecting final sizing to that ofthe template.

14. The method according to claim 1, which includes the further steps ofdetaching the template from the heel base following completion of thecontouring and sizing step, and finally attaching the finished heel tothe base in the position thereon formerly assumed by said template.

15 ;lhe method according to claim 3, which includes the further step ofsecuring a finished outer heel to the heel seat and heel base componentsin exact edge-surface registry therewith.

16. The method according to claim 7, which includes the further steps ofdetaching the template from the heel base following completion of thecontouring and sizing step and of attaching a finished outer heel tosaid heel base in exact edge-registery with said contoured and sizedheel base and heel components.

17. The method according to claim 9, including the further step of, uponcompletion of said contouring and sizing step, attaching the finishedouter heel to said heel base in exact edge-surface registry with thecontoured and sized heel seat and heel base components.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,248,971 Winkley Dec. 4, 1917 2,038,534 Bray Apr. 28, 1936 2,223,121Musebeck Nov. 26, 1940 2,359,395 Stacey Oct. 3, 1944 2,644,968 Benedictet al. July 14, 1953

1. THE METHOD OF SHOE HEEL CONSTRUCTION WHICH INCLUDES THE STEPS:PROVIDING A TEMPLATE HAVING EDGE CONTOUR AND SIZE CORRESPONDINGSUBSTANTIALLY EXACTLY TO THE CONTOUR AND SIZE OF A FINISHED OUTER HEELULTIMATELY TO BE ATTACHED TO THE HEEL SEAT AND HEEL BASE COMPONENTS OFTHE HEEL WHICH ARE ALREADY PERMANENTLY IN PLACE ON A SHOE, DETACHABLYSECURING SAID TEMPLATE TO THE HEEL BASE COMPONENT IN POSITIONCORRESPONDING EXACTLY TO THAT WHICH IS TO BE ASSUMED BY THE FINISHEDHEEL WHEN ATTACHED, AND CONTOURING AND SIZING SAID HEEL SEAT AND HEELBASE COMPONENTS TO THE CONTOUR AND SIZE OF THE TEMPLATE AND THEREBY OFSAID FINISHED OUTER HEEL.